About this Site

Emilie Davis was an African-American woman living in Philadelphia during the U.S. Civil War. This website is a transcription of Emilie’s three pocket diaries for the years 1863, 1864, and 1865. In them, she recounts black Philadelphians’ celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, nervous excitement during the battle of Gettysburg, and their collective mourning of President Lincoln. The diary allows readers to experience the war in real time, as events unfolded for Civil War Americans. Read More...

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June 2-4, 1864

June, THURSDAY, 2, 1864.

below Els is quite wet i went down to mr livelys an recived my last lesson for the summer in the evening i regret to say i went with vincent to the odd

FRIDAY, 3.

fellows […] i shall ever regret it they turned it in to a regular hall i have felt very uneasy all morning nell was very much opposed to my going she

SATURDAY, 4.

is very angry with me i went to the lecture last evening it seemed as if gibbs was talking to me in his discours vincent in all Nell and i went up to Bayards in the evening